ROAST BEETROOTS WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND YOGHURT

September 07, 2021 by Chris Onions

The humble yet versatile beetroot here comes to life with punchy preserved lemon and refreshing yoghurt. September is perhaps the best time for eating beetroots; they’re plump and sweet, ideal served raw or cooked gently for salads.

serves 4

1kg beetroot, washed well but not peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp cumin seeds
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
40g preserved lemon, finely diced
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp finely chopped dill
1 tbsp tahini
150g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp toasted seeds, pumpkin, onion, sunflower all work well
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Roast the beetroots for 30-60mins on a baking tray covered with some tin foil or a lid if you have one. The beetroot timing will differ depending on their size but a knife should go through smoothly once they’re ready. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little, until you can peel off the skins and cut the beetroot into ½ cm slices. Place in a bowl and set to one side.

Now to make the dressing. In a dry pan, gently toast the cumin seeds on a low heat until they begin to pop and release their aroma. Now add the olive oil to the pan along with the onion and chopped preserved lemon and remove from the heat. Give this a quick stir and add the lemon juice, tahini and yoghurt and a little salt and pepper to create a very tasty, creamy dressing. Pour this into the bowl with the beetroots and gently stir together.

Place into a serving bowl and scatter over the toasted seeds and chopped dill to serve. This salad will last for 4 days in the fridge but is best eaten fresh.

This recipe is shared as part of the Good Food Club. We are very grateful for funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, distributed by the Landworkers’ Alliance, which has allowed us to offer a pilot of the Good Food Club this year. Thanks to National Lottery players for making this possible.

TOMATO & OLIVE TART WITH CHIMICHURRI

September 07, 2021 by Chris Onions

This tart uses ROUGH PUFF PASTRY, our first attempt at pastry with the GFC! We use some of the abundant tomatoes from the garden for a tart tasting of summer.

Serves 4

1 lot of ROUGH PUFF PASTRY (see recipe)
1 tbsp pitted black olives, roughly chopped
6 sun-blushed tomatoes (or oven-dried tomatoes), roughly chopped
6 basil leaves, finely shredded
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp capers, finely minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 pot chimichurri sauce (pre-made)

Start by making the ROUGH PUFF PASTRY according to the recipe.

Mix together all the ingredients (except the pastry and chimichurri sauce) to create a delicious tomato topping. You can add other soft herbs or vegetables to this if you like.

To assemble the tarts:

Remove your pastry from the fridge and lightly dust the work surface and the top of your pastry with a little flour. Roll the dough into a large circle shape by rolling from the centre to each end, not flattening the end points. Turn the pastry so the flattened out corners are at the top and bottom. Again, roll from the centre towards the points nearest and farthest to you, stopping short of the top and bottom. Roll the thicker areas and you will begin to see a circle forming. Transfer to the baking tray on top of the greaseproof paper and chill for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Once the pastry is cold, fill the centre of the dough circle with the tomato mixture, leaving a 4cm edge uncovered around the pastry disc. Crimp the edges inwards to create a round and pretty tart.

Bake the tart (also known as a galette) until the crust has visibly puffed and baked to dark brown and the base is crisp, about 30-40 minutes. Rotate the baking tray at the midway point to ensure even baking. Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature drizzled with the chimichurri sauce.

ROUGH PUFF PASTRY

September 07, 2021 by Chris Onions

Our first introduction on the GFC to making pastry! Here we will make a rough puff pastry, which can be made in larger quantities and used for lots of dishes from pies and puffs to sausage rolls and tarts.

For a tart to serve 4 people

150g butter
80ml very cold water
pinch salt
200g plain flour

Cut the butter into 2cm cubes and put them in the fridge. Measure the water into a jug, dissolve the salt into it and put into the fridge as well. Chill both for about 10 minutes.

Measure the flour onto flat work surface and spread into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour and toss a little flour over the butter so that your rolling pin won’t stick, and begin rolling. When the butter starts flattening out into long, thin pieces, use a bench scraper, spoon or palette knife to bring up the sides of the rectangle so that it is the size that you started with. Repeat the rolling and scraping 3 or 4 times. Try not to work with your hands as they will warm the dough up, and we want it to stay cool.

Make a well in the centre of the buttery flour and pour all of the water into it. Using a dough scraper, palette knife or spoon, scoop the sides of the dough into the centre, cutting the water through the dough. Keep scraping and cutting until the dough is a shaggy mass and shape into a rectangle.

Lightly dust the top with flour and roll out the rectangle until it is half as large again, then scrape the top, bottom and sides together to the original size and re-roll. Repeat 3 or 4 times until you have a smooth and cohesive dough. Transfer the rectangle of dough to a baking tray, cover and chill for about an hour or until you are ready to use it.

BRAISED RUNNER BEANS WITH PARSLEY, TOMATO & GARLIC

August 25, 2021 by Chris Onions

Anyone who has ever dabbled in growing veg at home will probably have experienced a glut of runner beans. Easy to grow (remember those beans you grew in damp kitchen towel and plastic bottles in primary school? Yep, those were runners!) and heavy cropping, they are initially a delight, and then occasionally a burden as you struggle to come up with yet another way of incorporating runner beans into every meal. This recipe works as a side dish or as a light supper accompanied by a grain such as couscous or quinoa. What’s more, it freezes well so you can continue to enjoy the taste of summer through the autumn and into the winter.

Serves 4

500g runner beans
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
2 large fresh or 300g tinned tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Begin by preparing your runner beans; top and tail them and using a peeler, peel down the string side of the bean. Now slice into thin slices on the diagonal and set to one side.

Heat the sunflower oil in a pot on a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the cayenne pepper and paprika and fry for a further minute before adding the chopped tomatoes and sliced runner beans.

Add a good pinch of salt and enough water to almost cover and simmer without a lid for 30 minutes until the beans are very tender. Add the parsley and some pepper and serve.

The beans will last 3 days in the fridge and freeze very well.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH OLD WINCHESTER CHEESE

August 25, 2021 by Chris Onions

Polenta is a very versatile ingredient made from ground corn and a great source of carbohydrate for anyone seeking to reduce their intake of gluten or potatoes. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll be wanting to eat it with everything from casseroles or bolognese, to mounds of vegetables, and as an alternatives to chunky chips. Seasoning is important, so keep tasting and adding salt as you go if you need to.

Serves 4

200g polenta
750ml water
50g unsalted butter
50g grated Old Winchester cheese (can use cheddar or parmesan)
salt

Bring the water to a simmer in a sauce pan. Add a good pinch of salt, whisk in the polenta and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring to prevent it sticking.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and cheese. You can add a little more water or salt if you feel it’s too thick. It should be runny mashed potato consistency. This may vary depending on the type of polenta you use.

Check the seasoning and serve with the HAYE FARM BEEF AND ONION CASSEROLE or TRILL FARM GARDEN PEPPERS WITH BULGAR AND WALNUTS.

Any left overs can be left to firm up, sliced and fried or baked in the oven for polenta chips.

AROMATIC BAKED RICE WITH RAISINS & ALMONDS

August 12, 2021 by Chris Onions

Rice can be tricky to cook well. This recipe may be adjusted according to the type of rice you use but it’s pretty fail-safe. Here we use a simple technique to impart more flavour into the humble grains. The dish can be eaten fresh and hot, or turned into a beautiful rice salad once cool with the addition of chopped cucumber, maybe some mint or other crunchy salad or veg. It will store for 3 days in the fridge and reheated in the oven or microwave until it is piping hot. Not suitable for freezing.

Serves 4 as a side

400g basmati rice
50g almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
25ml olive or sunflower oil
800ml water
100g raisins
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 onion, peeled and grated
4 tsp ODK special spice (cinnamon, turmeric, mace, cardamom)
1 handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped (optional)
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt

Preheat the oven to 160C.

We begin by making a quick and aromatic vegetable stock. Add the grated onion and carrot to a small saucepan or pot along with the raisins, 800ml water and the ODK spice mix. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour your raw rice, almonds and oil in an oven-proof casserole dish or pot with a good pinch or two of salt. Pour over the hot stock from the pan, including the onion, carrot and raisins, and stir to mix it all together.

Put a lid on or cover tightly with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before removing the lid. Once rested, fluff up with a fork, squeeze over the lemon juice and garnish with the coriander if using.